Obstetrical instrument.



W. B. REEVE & N. SIGLIN. OBSTETRICAL INSTRUMENT.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 9, 1913.

7 1,080,477, Patnted Dec. 2, 1913.

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UNIE STATiEfiFATENT OFFICE.

WORTH B. REEVE AND NELSON SIGLIN, OF AURELIA, IOWA.

OBsTETRICAL INSTRUMENT.

macaw.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WVon'rII I). Itnnvr: and NELSON Siomn, citizens of the United States, residing at Aurelia, in the county of Cherokee and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Obstetrical Instruments; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to forceps to be used in veterinary surgery, and an object of the invention is to provide forceps the op posite blades of which are integral and have interposed between them at one end a resilient connection for forcing the opposite free ends of the blades open under certain conditions.

A further object of the invention is to provide forceps one end of which has a spring member with a sliding member adapted to be fulcrumed for bending said forceps.

A still further object of the invention is to provide forceps with an improved sliding member so formed as to allow the free ends of the forceps to spread after which the said ends may be forced together by sliding the fulcrumed member toward the free ends.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certain constructions, combinations and arrangements of the parts which we shall hereinafter fully describe and claim.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts: Figure 1 is a view of the complete forceps; Fig. 2 is an enlarged View of the spring end of said forceps; Fig. 3 a plan view of one of the plates forming part of the sliding fulcrum member; Fig. 4t is a vertical section taken upon line 4-411, Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrow; and Fig. 5 is a section similar to Fig. 4, taken on a modified form of the sliding member.

The gene 'al embodiment of this invention comprises a strip of steel or other similar material bent in substantially U-shape, and having the rounded part thereof flattened to form a resilient member which serves normally to force the free ends of the forceps apart. Slidably mounted upon the parallel blades of the forceps is a slide or Specification of Letters lPatent.

Application filed August 9, 1913.

Patented Dec. 2, 1913.

Serial No. 783,954.

fulcrum member adapted to be moved upon the blades by means of an inwardly extending push rod or other suitable means, said extending handle having a flared end so tapered as to accommodate the several positions of the blades.

In order that a more complete conception of the invention may be had, reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings wherein two modifications of the sliding member are shown as applied to one form of blades, although the blades may be changed as occasion requires.

As shown in Fig. 1, the forceps comprise blades 1 and 2, which are normally parallel, said blades preferably being formed of a strip of material which is flattened at the rounded portions 3 so as to present a resilient means for forcing the blades apart. The handle of the forceps as indicated at l, is formed by spreading the ends of the blades farther apart than in the left hand side of Fig. 1, while the outer free ends of the blades are provided with inbent curved ends 5 which may be of any preferred con strm-tion, and not necessarily limited to the form disclosed. In order that the opening of the free ends 5 may be controlled, there is slidably mounted upon the blades 1. and 2, a plate (3 having upwardly extending llanges 7, the outer ends of which are tapered as at S, for a purpose to be described hereinafter. In order that the plate may be moved, there is secured thereto a push rod 9 which has one end flared as at 10, to provide tapering walls 11 which are practically parallel to the tapered ends 8 of the plate (3. Any suitable means may be employed for securing the plate (3 to the flared end 10 of the rod, but for convenience we have shown screws 14 for the purpose in the drawing. 'lhat end of the rod 9 opposite the flared end is provided with any convenient grasping member or knob 12, to facilitate the sliding of the plate upon the blades. In order that a housing may be provided for guiding the blades, there is sccured to the plate (3, an auxiliary plate 13, the method for securing this plate as shown in the drawings, consisting in having the edges thereof abutting the flanges 7, while the screws 14 which serve to secure the tlared end 10 of the rod to the plate 6, are extended to secure the plate 13 to the plate 6.

\Vhcn it is desired to use the forceps for obstetrical purposes as in far-rowing, the

slide will be moved as near the handle 4 as possible, when any pressure upon opposite sides of the handle will force the ends 5 apart for the reception of the head or feet of the animal, as the case may be, after which, the sliding member may be moved toward the ends 5 by means of the knob 12 which will result in the obvious closing of the ends 5 to effect the desired result. It will be noted that in opening the parts of the blades lying on either side of the sliding block have said block as a pivot, the blades 1 and 2 engaging the points 15 and 16 upon the flared end 10, and that said end and the flanges of the plate 6 are tapered so as to accommodate the angular movement of the blades.

It will be apparent that by sliding the lock or fulcrum member back and forth upon the parallel side blades 1 and 2 of the instrument that it will be possible to vary the distance which the ends 5 are separated when the handles 4 are compressed.

It is not necessary to have the plate 6 formed identically as described and shown in Fig. 4, inasmuch as the same may be constructed as shown in the modifiedform disclosed in Fig. 5 wherein the sliding plate is shown at 17 and has opposite edges thereof provided with inwardly extending flanges 18 which are wide enough to receive the blades 1 and 2. The flared encl- 10 in the modified form may lie between the blades as in the preferred form, and it will be entirely possible to produce a taper upon the outer ends of the modified form somewhat as in the preferred form for the purpose of accommodating the angular movement of the blades.

It will be seen that in the use of the instrument, the grasping ends may be held against displacement so long as the sliding member is in the dotted position shown in Fig. 1, the thickness of the end 10 being sufficient to require the ends 5 to move in opposite directions when the parallel sides of the handle t are drawn together in the act of grasping.

What we claim is:

1. An instrument of the character described comprising substantially parallel blades, means defining a resilient connection between adjacent ends of said blades, and a sliding fulcrum member mounted upon the blades adapted to slide away from the resilient connection.

2. An instrument of the character described, comprising substantially parallel blades resiliently connected together at one end, and a block slidably mounted upon the blades and adapted to move toward the free end of the blades to form a fulcrum.

3. An instrument of the character described, comprising substantially parallel blades resiliently connected at one end, a block slidably mounted upon said blades intermediate the ends thereof and forming a fulcrum member, the free ends of the blades adapted to separate as the resiliently connected ends of the blades are compressed.

In testimony whereof We afliX our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

wonrn B. nnnvs. NELSON SIGLIN.

lVitnesses:

E. WV. KREGER, S. B. NELSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

